At the Spirit Awards, Love for ‘Silver Linings’ and, Well, Spirits

SANTA MONICA, Calif. — A debut feature made by a neophyte director with a nonprofessional cast was overlooked in favor of a film with Hollywood names and a budget that was $20 million higher as “Beasts of the Southern Wild” lost several times over to “Silver Linings Playbook” at the Film Independent Spirit Awards here on Saturday.

“Silver Linings Playbook,” distributed by the Weinstein Company, earned statuettes for best feature, female lead (Jennifer Lawrence), director and screenplay, the latter two for David O. Russell. “Benh Zeitlin is a young man,” Mr. Russell said of the 30-year-old director of “Beasts,” as he accepted his director award. “So Benh Zeitlin will be back.”

The multiple wins for “Silver Linings Playbook” do not necessarily mean much for its Oscar chances: except for John Waters, there is not much overlap between Spirit voters and Academy members. (Mr. Waters, a sort of Spirits mascot, who wore a tomato red Paul Smith suit, noted that he also votes for the Directors Guild and the Writers Guild prizes. “And the Razzies,” he said, the awards for the worst films of the year.)

“Beasts” did not go home entirely empty-handed: Ben Richardson won for its cinematography. Other winners included “The Sessions,” about a disabled man’s quest to have sex; the stars, John Hawkes and Helen Hunt, both won awards. And the teen drama “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” was named best first feature, for Stephen Chbosky, the writer-director. Matthew McConaughey also won, for his performance in “Magic Mike.” “I drop my drawers to win an award,” he said in a singsong tone, hoisting the statuette. He also revealed where he got some of his swagger: his mother, cast in bit parts opposite him, who at one point suggested they remake “The Graduate.”

Part of the fun of the Spirits, a daytime ceremony held in a tent by the beach, is that the copiously flowing alcohol (starting with the 11 a.m. cocktail hour) sometimes leads to copiously flubbed moments.

This year, Derek Connolly, who took the first award of the day, best debut screenplay, for “Safety Not Guaranteed,” decided to take his time delivering his acceptance speech. His spoke slowly, drawing out names as if he’d only recently remembered them – as if he had been having cocktails since just past breakfast, perhaps. As the audience squirmed and giggled, Bryan Cranston jumped onstage with a mini-bottle of Jameson (a sponsor of the event) and a glass. He poured Mr. Connolly a shot; Mr. Connolly downed it, then continued talking. Eventually Kerry Washington, the presenter, escorted him off.

If Mr. Cranston, the “Breaking Bad” star who also appears in “Argo,” bartended people offstage instead of the orchestra playing them off, the Oscars would be a lot more fun to watch. (And the speeches would be a lot punchier.)

The Spirits host, Andy Samberg, made light of the supposed contrast between the indie film world and studio fare. “As a community we have one thing to say to Hollywood,” Mr. Samberg said, cursing it with a four-letter word. “Isn’t that right, Bruce Willis?”

(Mr. Willis, a star of the nominated “Moonrise Kingdom,” laughed.)

Mr. Samberg, a first-time host, said he wasn’t sure what the Spirits were when he was first offered the gig. “I figured it was just Greta Gerwig and Sam Rockwell sharing a vaporizer on a patio somewhere,” he said. “And I was right.”

“This show is broadcast on IFC,” he added, “so if you fell asleep on the couch watching ‘Whisker Wars,’ welcome.”

Mr. Samberg, who later in the day won a Razzie as part of the Adam Sandler vehicle “That’s My Boy,” also had some lines that were tailored to the auteur-loving crowd, like this one – “Hey, Wes Anderson, Hal Ashby called: he wants his establishing shots back.”

What's Next

About

Cara Buckley is your guide on the red carpet to the news and the nonsense of awards season, covering the Golden Globes, the Oscars and more. The Carpetbagger will take a look at films and the people who make and star in them. She's joined by Michael Cieply and Brooks Barnes in Los Angeles, Larry Rohter on foreign-language films and documentaries, Mekado Murphy on the technical craft of filmmaking and Rachel Lee Harris on costume design. Tips are always welcome.